Here are some video highlights from the NAMM 2019 Collings booth along with an interview of ThroBak artist Jeff McErlain.

Matthew and I had a great time at 2019 Winter NAMM and had a change to do some video of the Gibson NAMM booth. We checked out the guitars and had a chance to talk with the new Gibson CEO James Curleigh.

At NAMM 2019 we had a chance to demo the new Jimmy Page Signature Sundragon amp and Fender Jimmy Page Mirrored and Dragon Telecasters. We talked to the maker of the Jimmy Page Sundragon amp, Mitch Colby. Mitch explains the details of the Sundragon amp and how it duplicates the modified Supro Coronado that Jimmy Page used in the studio for Led Zeppelin I. We also had a chance to try out the new Jimmy Page Mirror and Dragon Signature Telecasters at the Fender booth. Watch the video for all of the details.

The new executive team takes charge at Gibson this month and they claim to all be musicians. But can they play any better the previous CEO did?

Fender just announced a new Jimmy Page Signature Telecaster that will be unveiled at 2019 winter NAMM. The new guitar will be available in a limited run or 100 signed guitar as well as a more affordable production run. Watch the video to learn more.

Billy Gibbons is widely recognized as the king of electric guitar tone. I like many others consider his playing and tone to be the benchmark of Blues/Rock tone and technique. Matthew and I were eager hear the new Billy Gibbons Album, Big Bad Blues and we decided to video our first listen in the ThroBak Guitar Lounge.

So what is wax potting and what does it have to do with a PAF guitar pickup? Wax potting is process now commonly used to eliminate feedback through the pickup by saturating the entire pickup assembly with molten wax. Although common today, wax potted was never used by Gibson when making guitar pickups in the 1950's and 1960's. The question is, does this no wax vintage specification have an impact on the feel and tone of a P.A.F. pickup? In this video I explore that question with an A/B shootout between a P.A.F. repro with no wax vs. the same pickup wax potted.

Our mission at ThroBak is to make the best vintage reproduction pickup possible using the correct materials and manufacturing processes from the 50's and 60's. This includes winding pickups on machines that actually came out of the Gibson Kalamazoo factory. In this video I profile the history and features of one of these unique machines, the KZ/LP-115 pickup winder. Purchased by Gibson in 1950, this machine was present at the start of the P.A.F. guitar pickup era and many of the very first PAF pickups were wound with this machine. Even more compelling is the KZ/LP-115 pickup winding machine was rescued from the Gibson Kalamazoo factory personally by Les Paul, who walked out of the factory carrying the winder after Gibson announced the closing of the Gibson Kalamazoo and their move to Nashville.

ThroBak purchased this historic machine, restored it and has it back to winding our ThroBak KZ-115 vintage replica P.A.F. humbucker.

Over the years I have developed an 8 point checklist that I run through every time I'm interested in buying an electric guitar. With this electric guitar buyer's guide I can quickly evaluate whether the guitar is worth the asking price. The checklist makes sure that as the buyer, I'm aware of any potential issues so I can factor them into the price of the guitar. Great deals go fast and spotting a great deal is the key to getting a great deal. With this checklist you can quickly spot a great deal for yourself. Watch the video below and learn the points I like to inspect when buying an electric guitar.